Keanu Reeves

Although the box-office figures for "The Matrix Reloaded" dropped significantly in its second weekend, the sci-fi thriller's star, Keanu Reeves, said not even the SARS scare would stop him from promoting his movie in Asia.

KEANU KICKS: Currently completing two sequels to his 1999 hit "The Matrix," Keanu Reeves, 37, is looking to bring back the '70s counterculture hero of the "Billy Jack" movies, Variety reported. In the original, actor Tom Laughlin starred as Billy, a half-Native American ex-Green Beret karate expert who saved wild horses from being slaughtered for dog food and runaway teens from troubled pasts. Reeves is said to be discussing the resurrection of Billy Jack with Danny DeVito's production company, Jersey Films, with an eye toward shopping the project at various studios. Laughlin, still kicking at age 70, is expected to play a crucial role in the production, says Variety.

"The Matrix" continued to dominate the nation's box office with an estimated $22.2 million take during the Friday-Sunday period, according to industry estimates. The special-effects movie starring Keanu Reeves showed impressive staying power, declining only 20% from its opening weekend. (With nearly $73 million in ticket sales in 12 days, the film has clearly expanded its audience well beyond its target of young male moviegoers and will most likely wind up its domestic run with sales of at least $140 million.) Finishing a distant but respectable second was the romantic comedy "Never Been Kissed," starring Drew Barrymore as a newspaper reporter who infiltrates a high school. It made $11.7 million at 2,455 theaters. A trio of holdover comedies battled for the third spot, led by "The Out-of-Towners" with $5.3 million, followed by "10 Things I Hate About You" ($5.2 million) and "Analyze This" ($5.1 million).